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Productivity

Never Stop Learning

“when it comes to learning, spend liberally.” -Marcus Aurelius

I remember when I first listened to the Miracle of Self-discipline. That audio book really changed things for me. I just downloaded it and listened to it every single night before I went to bed. It seemed like a breath of fresh air. It was telling me things that I just could not disagree with. I felt like, for the first time in my life, I had found the blueprint for success. Now, I am not saying that if you just listen to that audio book you will be successful, but it was the impetus for my quest for knowledge.

Recently I read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Page 1 gave me exactly what I needed to lead a successful life. It made me realize that I have been getting lucky. The part of page 1 that I am referring to says that when it comes to learning, spend liberally. That changed my entire perspective. I am naturally cheap; I don’t like spending money at all. But then I realized that when it comes to learning more, there should be no allowance of time and money. Knowledge itself is the most valuable thing that you can acquire. When I read I Will Teach You To Be Rich, by Ramit Sethi, my entire financial life changed. It was amazing. I listened to it on audio book too. When I was walking to school every single day in college, I had that audio book playing. I listened, and I learned. And now I know exactly what I am doing when it comes to personal finance. Invest heavily in your education. Read, take courses, hire a mentor. Build a network of people who have your best interests in mind. Seek to learn more.

Create Success Habits

“I fear not the man who has practiced 1000 kicks, I fear the man who has practiced one kick 1000 times.” -Bruce Lee

Listen, if you want to direct your life, if you want to control the direction you are going, then you need to become conscious of the actions you consistently take. Aristotle wrote that we are the sum of our habits. He was right. You don’t need to change everything at once, but write out what kind of behaviors you need to develop in order to get where you want to be. Start planning. I learned that the length of time that one takes into consideration before making a decision is the number one indicator for success. I don’t agree with living moment to moment. I have struggled with this in the past, and I am sure I will struggle with it in the future. But having a plan means a lot. You decide what behaviors are acceptable. You decide what you will accept for yourself in your actions, your results, and, ultimately, your life. If you look at the word “decision” it has the stem, “cision.” To cut. You cut off any other possibility. You must decide what you want for yourself in your life, and accept nothing else but that.

A friend’s mantra is “I am a fan of repetition.” When it comes to some of the greatest people that ever lived, they continued to do the same actions over and over.

Repetition will give you the results you want. I know it is hard to do the same thing over and over. Especially if you are not getting the results you want. Believe me, there is not a single person on Earth who has not experienced that feeling. But if there is one thing that separates people who get what they want from life, and everyone else, it is persistence. No matter what happens they hold on to their dream. They tell themselves, “I will accomplish this, even if it takes me the rest of my life.” And they mean it.

Develop Super-Human Persistence

“Seriously, if you don’t keep improving then just die.” -Bruce Lee

When I was on a run the other night, I was exhausted. I was moving at a microscopic pace, I could hardly breathe, and my whole body was in pain. I was on my way home, and the run was not even three miles. But I was at the spot I stopped last time. All of a sudden, a quote from Bruce Lee popped into my head.

I KNEW I needed to improve. I knew that if I did not summon some strength from somewhere, anywhere, then I would stay exactly the same. There is an idea called a “second wind.” When you are at the point where you will collapse, when defeat is imminent. You have given it all, and you have failed. But something is different. You could so easily give up, but you call for the strength. You do not accept your fate, and you summon the power you need. This is called the “second wind.” When you summon the strength you need, despite the impossibility. Since the dawn of the human race the second wind has caused us to survive. To persist through impossible situations. To become super-human in times of great need. I am telling you, if you cut off any possibility of anything other than what you desire, you will either achieve that, or you will die. And if death really is your fate, then your second wind will kick in. You will find that if you push yourself past what you believed was possible, you will find a power you have only imagined. I decided that I was going to make it. I cut myself off from any other possibility. And the strength came to me. I finished that run, and felt empowered by my ability to force myself to do what I know I needed to do. I know you can do it too.

Take Action, Immediately

I am a firm believer in active absorption of information. What I want you to do since you have read this far is to develop an action plan. I want you to decide exactly what you want for yourself, and work backwards to create a plan to achieve that. I want you to take action on those plans, and start working towards what you want. You also need to develop persistence. The best way to develop persistence is to exercise persistence. Create a calendar. For 30 days you will incorporate this new behavior, and track each day that you stick to it. If you failed a certain day, then mark it on your calendar. If you fail your goal, it is important to realize that you can simply pick it up again. You and I have both fallen into the “I have failed” mindset at some point. Remember if you fail, that it is an opportunity to learn, and to try again. Develop persistence.

Remain Humble

I remember when I first looked at informational products. I thought, “what a scam!” I was young, and I valued money above learning. As we grow older, we may become jaded. We have been let down. Experiences have told us that the world is cold and harsh, and everyone will say or do anything to make a quick dollar. If you can restore yourself to have the mind of a child, to be open to new experiences, new ideas, being wrong, relearning, and being humble, then I believe you will find success. And this success might not be what you imagined. It might be more than what you imagined. Cultivate this mindset. Question, “how could this be something other than what I think it is?” Develop a mind that is open to possibility.

I hope this was helpful for you, and remember, take action towards your goals!